Dress-form



2 N Wm Oi BB RR ,(No Mbdel.)

No. 524,242. Patenteg Aug. 7, 1894.

D, BROWN. DRESS FORM.

2 Shets-Shqet 2.

(No Model.)

No. 524,242 Patented Au 7, 1894.

WITNESSES:

UNIT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID BROWN, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

D'RE'SS-FORM.

SPECIFICATI QN forming part of Letters Patent No. 524,242, dated August 7, 1894.

Application filed March 21, 1892. Renewed March 22, 1894:- Serial No. 504,721, (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatl, DAVID BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fitting-Forms for Presses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. i i

This invention relates to certain novel and useful improvements in forms for draping and fitting ladies garments, and has for its ob ect to provide a device of this description which shall be simple in construction, which shall so far as possible avoid the use of hinged oints, and which shall be adjustable in its several dimensions for the purpose of adapting it to various sizes; and with these ends in view my invention consists substantially in such features of arrangement, construction, and combinations of parts, as will hereinafter be more particularly set forth and claimed. In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may fully understand its construction and method of operation, I will describe the same in detail, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings which form a and in which j Figure 1,is a front elevation showing the part.of this specification,

form with its two parts connected and expanded to an average size. Fig. 2, shows the skirt section substantially closed. Fig. 3, shows the body section expanded to a considerable size; Fig. 4, a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the body form very slightly expanded. Fig. 5, is a detail showing one of the pawl-carrying slides and a section of the rod. Fig. 6, is a detail plan view of one of the heads prior to the attachment of the springs thereto. Fig. 7, is a bottorri plan view showing the means for fastening the tripod.

Fig. 8, is a view similar to Fig. 7, but show-.

ing the parts in" their locked position. Fig.

9, is a detail section through one of the rivet fastenings.

The same parts'are designated by the same numerals in e'achof the figures. 7 My improved structure consists, as heretofore stated, of two sections, one for the skirt and the other for the bodice, and these are separable and the skirt form may be used the body form.

The several parts of the form are mounted.

upon a vertical metal rod 1 whose lower end enters and is adjustably secured within a tubular socket 2 by means of a set screw 3. This socket upon its lower end is provided with outwardly extending lugs or ears 4, see particularlyFigs, 7 and 8, and to these are pivoted legs 5 which may fold together into small space, or which may be expanded for purposes of support, as shown at Figs. 1 and 2. On the bottom of the socket is pivoted a plate 6 having three outwardly extending arms, and this plate,when the arms are turned to the position shown atFig. 8 so that each is in line with one of the legs, serves to lock the latter in their expanded position. 011' the other hand, when in the position shown at Fig. 7, that is, alternating with the legs, the latter may be drawn together as will be readily understood. v

Theupper part of the skirt form consists of a cage-like, expansible structure formed of a number of thin steel springs 7 which are slightly bowed or bent into a compound curve, and the ends of which are pierced and are riveted to the peripheries of the two heads 8, 9,

which are centrally bored so that they may slide freely upon the rod 1. There are five of these heads in the entire construction, and

they are all alike, and while the method of attachment of the springs thereto is immaterial,I prefer to cast the heads of brass or malleable iron, and to provide each upon its edge with the proper number of radial studs 10 which in connection with an ordinary burr are to pass through the strips or wires and then be upset or headed after the manner of ordinary rivets. This forms a very strong and simple fasteningwbetween the parts. 'At

about its center each of the springs 7 has attached thereto a skirt-distending wire 11, and each of these skirt wires near its point of attachment is provided with an offset or short bend 12, the whole number combining to form the waist line of the structure. I The lower ends of the skirt wires 11 are connected to the extremities of a series of thin steel springs 13, and the inner end of these latter are secured to a sliding head let whose construction is the same as heretofore described and shown at Fig. 6. Thesaid springs 13 are also slightly bent or bowed with a compound curve so that when the block 16 is pushed downward the expansion or distension of the skirt wires 11 will be effected entirely by the flexure of said springs, and thereby give a resilient or yielding effect to the skirt form generally, a feature very much desired in this class of inventions as compared with the ordinary and well known rigid braces which have been heretofore used for the same purpose, and which have ordinarily consisted of straight or rigid braces extending radially from a movable slide and having their outer extremities attached or connected separately to the distending wires which constitute the skirt or dress form proper. The straight and unyielding braces or connections referred to are open to the objection that after thelower end of the skirt form has been distended or expanded to the desired extent the same remains practically stiff and unyielding in fitting a skirt to the form, while by the use of the springs 13 bent or shaped as described a resilient or yielding of the lower edge of the form is had, as will be apparent. The springs 7 constituting the upper part of.the skirt-form also serve toexpand the waist portion simply by their own flexure,in like manner, whenever said springs or cage is adjusted to suit varying sizesor dimensions. Beneath the head 8 is a supporting slide block 15 provided with a set screw for engaging the rod, anda similar block 16 is superposed upon the head 14. At 17 the rod is provided with a row of ratchet teeth extending along it, say for five or six inches, and in connection with these teeth I use a fastening device consisting of a slide 18 loosely embracing the rod, said slide having an outwardly projecting handle 19, and in its opposite end a pivoted pawl 20 whose nose is adapted to engage with the teeth of the rack. This construction is clearly shown in the detail Fig. 5. This slide lies upon the top of the head 9, as shown at Figs. 1 and 2.

The operation of this portion of my invention is as follows: The'block 15 is screwed firmly to the rod. The block 16 is loose upon the rod, and the slide disengaged from the teeth, thereby leaving the structure in the collapsed condition illustrated at Fig. 2. To expand it, the block 16 is pushed downward,

thereby bending each of the springs 13 into.

the doubly-curved form shown at Fig. 2, and throwing out the skirt Wires to the extent desired. 16 is secured by its set screw,but it is equally feasible for the purpose of adjusting the head 14: to use a rack and in connection therewith a slide such as has been described above. Then pressure is applied on top of the slide When sufficiently expanded the block I and the head 9 forced downward toward the head 8 until the cage has expanded sufficiently to impart to the form the waist measure desired. It is there held by permlttlng the pawl to engage with the rack teeth 7. It-

will be readily understood that the waist line and the bottom line of the skirt wires may be thus independently adjusted as to size and the form is also adjustable for skirts of different lengths by raising and lowering the rod 1 in its socket.

I will now describe the body form. The basis of this consists of a cage having heads 21 and 22 of the construction shown at Fig. 6, connected by springs 23 which are shaped into a compound curve in the same manner as the waist cage. This cage constitutes the neck and the upper part of the shoulders of the form. A sliding block 24 adjustable upon the red by means of a thumb screw,supports the lower head 21, as shown at Fig. 1. This neck cage is expansible by means of a slide 25 like that shown at Fig. 5 and above described, whose pawl takes into a rack 26 at the top of the rod. At about the center of the cagejust described are attached the ribs or spring wires 27 which go to make up the body proper. This body is made up in fourindependent sections, as will be readily seen by comparison of Figs. 1, 3 and 4. An equal number of the springs 27 are preferably comprised in each section, and they are stayed at about their center by means of a curved joining band 28. At their lower ends each of the springs constituting one section are connected by a steel bottom band 29. The number and precise method of connection and arrangement of these springs is 'of course immaterial. Each of the four sections is connected by a pivoted two-part hinge 30, the rivets joining the parts of which being preferably set down tightly so that the four quarters may by means of these hinged joints be contracted or expanded within any limit of variation likely to be required. The top and bottom of this body form, as will be understood, are independently adjustable so that it may be readily made to represent varying figures. For instance, by expanding the top cage and contracting the waist portion one shape of figure is obtained, and vice versa.

In adjusting the Whole form it is preferable first to arrange the skirt form. Then by means of the block 24 the body form is adjusted vertically to provide for the desired length of waist, either by lowering the body form well downward over the skirt cage to provide for a short Waist, or raising it slightly above the skirt line, as is shown at Fig. 1, to provide for a long waist. The lower portion of the body form, by means of its hinged joints,

is then contracted to closely embrace the I have shown and described, since these may be altered and varied in many respects with- V out departing from the essentials of my invention which I deem commensurate in scope 5 'with the terms of the claim here following.

I clai'm- In a dress form, the combination of the standard or support, the waist cage consisting of the reversely'curved springs 7 and the [0 heads 8 and 9, the skirt wires depending from said cage and formed with a bulge 12, the re- DAVID BROWN.

Witnesses:

- PRENTICE W. CHASE, SYLVEsTER CHASE. 

